Floor construction and member for making same

ABSTRACT

An improved floor construction for an animal enclosure is provided and employs a plurality of substantially E-shaped channel members each having a bight defining a top load-carrying wall and having three substantially vertical walls defined by a pair of downwardly extending side walls with an intermediate wall arranged between the side walls. Each channel member also has a pair of inwardly directed side fastening flanges each extending inwardly toward the other from the lower edge of an associated side wall and a central fastening flange adjoining the lower edge of the intermediate wall. Each channel member is made of a resilient material which enables the lower ends of an associated pair of its walls to be relatively spread apart at a location adjacent a set of associated fastening legs provided on an associated connector used to connect the channel member to an adjacent member and upon releasing the spread walls the normal resiliency of the channel member causes such walls to return to their initial positions so that their fastening flanges are hooked around the associated fastening legs. The three substantially vertical walls of each channel member provide improved support for its top wall and enable the forming of a floor construction of maximum area using a minimum amount of material for channel members and connectors.

[ 51 Mar. 27, E973 ABSTRACT FLOOR CONSTRUCTION AND MEMBER FOR MAKINGSAME An improved floor construction for an animal enclo- [75] Inventors:Donald E. Vickstrom; George F.

sure is provided and employs a plurality of substantially E-shapedchannel members each having a bight Swenck, both of Richmond, Va.

I I defining a top load-carrying wall and having three sub- [73]Asslgnee' Rieynolds Me stantially vertical walls defined by a pair ofRlchmond, Va.

downwardly extending side walls with an mtermediate Aug. 13, 1971 [22]Filed: wall arranged between the side walls. Each channel member alsohas a pair of inwardly directed side Appl' 171528 fastening flanges eachextending inwardly toward the other from the lower edge of an associatedside wall [52] US. and a central fastening flange adjoining the loweredge [51] Int. 02/42 of the intermediate wall. Each channel member is[58] Field of Search ....1 19/28, 16; 52/177, 588, 669, made of aresilient material which enables the lower 52/720, 728 ends of anassociated pair of its walls to be relatively spread apart at a locationadjacent a set of associated [56] References Cited fastening legsprovided on an associated connector used to connect the channel memberto an adjacent member and upon releasing the spread walls the nor-UNITED STATES PATENTS mal resiliency of the channel member causes such52 180 walls to return to their initial positions so that theirfastening flanges are hooked around the associated 52,588 fasteninglegs. The three substantially vertical walls of each channel memberprovide improved support for 3,420,015 l/l969 Costanzo, 3,528,391 9/1970Johnson 3,555,762 l/l97l Costanzo,

its top wall and enable the forming of a floor construc- PrimaryExaminerl-Iugh R. Chamblee tion of maximum area using a minimum amountof Attorney-John F. C. Glenn et al. material for channel members andconnectors.

14 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEUmznm SHEET 2 0F 2 THEIR ATTORNEYSFLOOR CONSTRUCTION AND MEMBER FOR MAKING SAME BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION In providing floor constructions or floors for animalenclosures used to raise animals in confinement, and using light weightchannel members, see US. Pat. NO. 3,528,391, for example, it isnecessary that such floors be easy to construct and maintain, areeconomical, provide adequate support for animals while assuringsatisfactory movement thereon, and allow materials such as spilled food,animal wastes, and the like, to flow easily through each floor into anassociated pit or tank arranged therebeneath to receive such materials.Further, in using channel members to define a floor construction it isdesirable that a minimum number of connecting devices or connectors beemployed to hold the channel members together in spaced relation yetwithout compromising the structural integrity of the floor construction.

SUMMARY This invention provides an improved floor constructionparticularly adapted for an animal enclosure and a roughly E-shapedchannel member for making same which is of improved strength. I

The floor construction employs a plurality of E- shaped channel memberseach having a bight defining a top load carrying wall and threesubstantially vertical walls defined by a pair of downwardly extendingside walls with an intermediate wall arranged between the side walls.Each channel member also has a pair of inwardly directed side fasteningflanges each extending inwardly toward the other from the lower edge ofan associated side wall and a central fastening flange adjoining thelower edge of the intermediate wall. Each channel member has a widthbetween the lower edges of its side walls which is no greater than thewidth of its top load carrying wall and is made of a resilient materialwhich enables the lower ends of an associated pair of its walls to berelatively spread apart at a location adjacent a set of associatedfastening legs provided on an associated connector used to connect thechannel member to an adjacent member and upon releasing the spread wallsthe normal resiliency of the channel member causes such walls to returnto their initial positions so that their fastening flanges are hookedaround the associated fastening legs. The three substantially verticalwalls of each channel member provide improved support for its top walland enable the forming of a floor construction of maximum area using aminimum amount of material for channel members and connectors.

Other details, uses, and advantages of this invention will becomeapparent as the following description of the exemplary embodimentsthereof presented in the accompanying drawings proceeds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view withparts in cross section and parts broken away particularly illustrating asection of one exemplary embodiment of a floor construction of thisinvention and illustrating a plurality of identical substantiallyE-shaped members and connectors used in making same;

FIG. 2 is an end view of a typically substantially E- shaped membercomprising the floor construction of FIG. 1 wherein such member has apair of side walls ad joining opposite sides of a top load-carrying walland an intermediate wall arranged between the side walls;

FIG. 3 is an end view with parts broken away illustrating one techniquefor relatively spreading apart an associated pair of walls of the memberof FIG. 2 at a location adjacent a set of associated fastening legsprovided on a connector to fasten such walls to the connector; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary end view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG.1.

DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS Reference is now made to FIG. 1of the drawings which illustrates one exemplary embodiment of the floorconstruction of this invention which is designated generally by thereference numeral 10. The floor construction 10 is comprised of aplurality of substantially E-shaped, as viewed from an end thereof,channel members 11 which are suitably fastened together in side-by-siderelation by a plurality of bottom connector-spacer members or connectors12. The construction and arrangement of the channel members 11 andconnectors 12 is such that a floor construction is provided which isparticularly adapted for use in raising domestic animals such aspoultry, swine, cattle, and the like, in confinement, and the structuraldetails of each channel member 11 and connector 12 will be described indetail subsequently.

The channel members or members 11 may be of extended length and suchlength will vary depending on the intended use for a particular floorconstruction 10 and the members 11 employ sets 13 of connectors 12 atspaced intervals along their lengths. The connectors 12 of each set 13are arranged in substantially end-to-end relation across one entiredimension of a floor construction 10 made using elongated members 1 1.

The floor construction 10 preferably has the opposite end portions 14 ofits channel members 11 supported on a suitable supporting structurecomprising the animal enclosure and, in this example, each end portion14 of each member 11 is supported on an associated ledge 15 of asupporting wall 16 which is shown in this example as a concrete wall.The members 11 and hence structure 10 is supported in position over asuitable conventional pit, tank, or trough-like structure (not shown)which is adapted to receive any material, such as animal wastes whichdrop through the floor construction 10 between members 11 and each pitmay be cleaned of any accumulation therein using known techniques.

As previously stated, each member 1 1 is substantially E-shaped asviewed either from an end or in cross sec tion and in a typical floorconstruction is rotated clockwise from the normal upright position ofthe letter E. Each E-shaped member 1 1 has a bight defining a topload-carrying wall 17 and has a pair of downwardly extending side walls20 adjoining opposite side edges 21 of the top wall 17, see FIG. 2. Anintermediate wall 22 adjoins the top wall 17 and is arranged mid-waybetween the sidewalls 20.

Each member 11 also has a pair of inwardly directed side fasteningflanges 23 each extending inwardly toward the other from the lower edgeportion 24 of an associated side wall. The member 1 I also has a centralor intermediate fastening flange adjoining a lower edge portion 25 ofthe intermediate wall 22 and the fastening flange is comprised of a pairof flange portions each designated by the reference numeral 27 which arepositioned in a symmetrical manner on opposite sides of wall 22 and moreexactly on opposite sides of a central plane 30 through the intermediatewall 22. Because the intermediate wall 22 of this example is arrangedmidway between the side walls 20, the plane 30 bisects the channelmember 11 longitudinally.

The side walls 20 extend downwardly from the top load-carrying wall 17of member 11 in a converging manner whereby the channel member 11 has awidth, at 31, between the lower edges of its side wall 20 which is nogreater than the width, indicated at 32, of the top load carrying wall17. In this example, the width 31 is substantially less than the width32 and each immediately adjacent pair of channel members 11, see FIG. 1,has a downwardly diverging passage 33 defined therebetween by anassociated set of side walls 20 whereby each diverging passage 33assures easy flow of materials such as animal wastes through the floorconstruction 10.

The top load-carrying wall 17 of member llhas an arcuate configurationwhich is outwardly convex. In addition, each side wall 20 has a verticalheight indicated at 34 which is less than the vertical height 35 of theintermediate or central leg or wall 22 of the E- shaped member; and, theconstruction of member 11 is such that the bottom surface of flanges 23and 27 are substantially coplanar so that they may be easily supportedon an associated planar ledge 15. The convex configuration of the topwall 17 together with the arrangementof walls 20 and 22 assure that eachmember 1 1 may carry a maximum load yet require less material thicknessfor such top wall.

Each member 1 1 has non-skid means 36 provided on its top load-carryingwall 17 and such non-skid means provide a better walking surface for thefloor construction. The non-skid means of this example are in the formof upwardly extending projections 36 defined as an integral part of thetop wall 17.

As previously indicated, the floor construction 10 comprises a pluralityof connectors 12 which are employed to fasten channel members 11together alongside each other in spaced relation, see FIGS. 1 and 3.Each connector 12 has a base portion 40 and sets of upwardly andoutwardly extending fastening legs 41 with each leg 41 defining alaterally open recess 42 which receives an associated fastening flangeof member 11 therewithin.

The connector 12 may be made from any suitable material and by anysuitable technique including, though not limited to, extrusion,punching, roll forming, combinations of these process, etc. Eachconnector 12 may be made of small width, indicated at 49, and cooperateswith other connectors 12 of a floor construction to hold the members 1 1in an upright manner and in spaced relation. The weight of the members11 and loads supported by floor construction 10 are carried byassociated structures, such as ledges 15, and as previously indicated.

The members 11 are made of a resilient material (preferably a metalalloy) which provides normal resiliency therefor. This enables the loweror bottom end portions of an associated pair of its substantiallyvertical walls 20 and 22 to be relatively spread apart at a locationadjacent a set of associated fastening legs 41 provided on an associatedconnector 12 and upon releasing such spread walls, the normal resiliencyof the channel member 11 causes the spread walls to return to theirinitial positions with the fastening flanges 23 and 27, for example,hooked around the associated fastening legs 41 to hold each member 11 inan upright manner.

Any suitable tool or technique may be employed for relatively spreadingapart the vertical walls of a member 11 so that its fastening flangesmay be hooked or placed in grasping engagement around associatedfastening legs. For example, a special spreading tool 43, see FIG. 3,may be employed which has a pair of pivoted levers 44 each having acontoured end portion 45. The tool 43 may be used to easily relativelyspread apart a side wall 20 and intermediate wall 22 of a typical member11 merely by inserting such tool into the position shown by solid linesin FIG. 3 and then moving the pivoted levers 44 toward each other asindicated by the double arrows 46 whereupon the contoured portions 45engage associated fastening flanges 23 and 27 to thereby urge suchfastening flanges and their associated walls 20 and 22 respectivelyoutwardly or apart as indicated by the dotted lines at 47. The connector12 may then be moved in .position and upon releasing the levers 44 thefastening flanges 23 and 27 will, in essence, be received withinassociated laterally open recesses 42 and in grasping contact againstthe fastening legs 41. During the use of the tool 43 it will beappreciated that such tool is axially spaced along an as-v sociatedmember 11 so as not to interfere with the placement of a connector 12into position.

In addition to providing a floor construction 10 which requires aminimum amount of structural material in members 11 for a given floorarea, the use of members 11 allows a plurality of connectors 12 to bearranged in aligned end-to-end relation, see FIGS. 1 and 4, and withoutrequiring that portions of the connectors be overlapped. It will beappreciated that if a connector, such as connector 12, were to be usedto connect substantially inverted U-shaped members instead of E- shapedmembers, after connecting a first pair of U- shaped members alongsideeach other, it would be necessary upon connecting a second connectedpair of U-shaped channel members to the first pair to arrange anotherconnector 12 so that two of its legs 41 would be connected to a memberof the first pair and two of its legs connected to a member of thesecond pair.

However, with the use of E-shaped channel members 11 and connectors 12,it will be seen that the connectors 12 may be arranged in alignedend-to-end spaced relation as shown at 50 in FIG. 4, and with ends 51 ofeach immediately adjacent pair of connectors arranged beneath theintermediate leg 22 of an E-shaped channel member. It will also beappreciated that there is sufficient space, indicated at 53, between theends of the connectors 12 to assure that each connector 12 may befastened in position in an unobstructed manner.

In the process of completing a floor construction 10 a plurality ofconnectors 12 are fastened in endJo-end relation along the fulltransverse dimension of such floor construction. In placing the firstconnector 12 in position it will be appreciated that both walls 22 and20 of a channel member 11 will be spread apart as shown by dotted linesin FIG. 3. However, upon fastening another member 1 l in position one ofthe vertical walls such as the intermediate wall 22, for example, isprevented from being spread apart by that portion of the connector 12previously fastened in position. However, the member 11 is constructedso that only a side wall 20 may be spread sufficiently whereby such sidewall and the intermediate wall 22 are relatively spread. For example, inthe outermost member shown at 54 in FIG. 1 the outer side wall 20 andwall 22 are relatively spread apart by spreading the outer side wall 20only thereof, rather than such side wall and the intermediate wall 22.

Each member 11 may be made of any suitable material and using anysuitable manufacturing technique. However, the members 11 are preferablymade by extrusion process of a metallic material containing aluminum;and, the various walls, fastening flanges, non-skid ridges, etc., aredefined as a single integral unitary construction.

The members 11 comprising floor construction are shown in this exampleas having a comparatively small vertical height with such members intheir normal assembled positions. However, the height of such membersmay be varied and either increased or decreased depending upon theintended application of the members 11 and a floor construction madeusing such members.

While present exemplary embodiments of this invention, and methods ofpracticing the same, have been illustrated and described, it will berecognized that this invention may be otherwise variously embodied andpracticed within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A floor construction comprising, a plurality of substantiallyE-shaped channel members arranged in parallel spaced relation; eachE-shaped channel member comprising a bight defining a top load-carryingwall, a pair of downwardly extending side walls adjoining said topload-carrying wall, an intermediate wall arranged between said sidewalls, a pair of inwardly directed side fastening flanges each adjoiningand extending inwardly toward the other from the lower edge portion ofan associated side wall, and an intermediate fastening flange adjoiningthe lower edge portion of said intermediate wall, each channel memberhaving a width between the lower edges of its side walls which is nogreater than the width of its top load-carrying wall; and a plurality ofconnectors fastening said channel members together, each connectorhaving a base portion and sets of upwardly and outwardly extendingfastening legs, each leg having a recess with an associated fasteningflange received therewithin, each channel member being made of aresilient material which provides a normal resiliency therefor and holdsits fastening flanges within recesses of associated fastening legs andin grasping contact against the associated fastening legs so that eachchannel member is fastened in position and held in spaced relation fromimmediately adjacent members by its fastening flanges.

2. A floor construction as set forth in claim I in which each channelmember has non-skid means provided on its top wall.

3. A floor construction as set forth in claim 1 in which each channelmember has its top wall defined as an outwardly convex top wall providedwith non-skid means as an integral part thereof.

4. A floor construction as set forth in claim 1 in which each channelmember has its side and intermediate fastening flanges provided withbottom surfaces arranged in a common plane enabling each channel memberto be supported on an associated planar support.

5. A floor construction as set forth in claim 1 in which each channelmember has a width between the lower edges of its side walls which issubstantially less than the width of its top load-carrying wall tothereby define a downwardly diverging passage between each immediatelyadjacent pair of said channel members.

6. A floor construction as set forth in claim 1 in which each of saidchannel members and each of said connectors is made as a single unitarystructure of a metallic material.

7. A floor construction as set forth in claim 1 in which said pluralityof connectors are arranged in sets placed at spaced intervals transversesaid elongated members and the connectors in each set are arranged inaligned end-to-end relation along a rectilinear path.

8. A substantially E-shaped channel member for use in a floorconstruction, said channel member comprising a bight defining a topload-carrying wall, a pair of downwardly extending side walls, anintermediate wall arranged between said side walls, a pair of inwardlydirected side fastening flanges each extending inwardly toward the otherfrom the lower edge of an associated side wall, and an intermediatefastening flange adjoining the lower edge of said intermediate wall,said channel member having a width between the lower edges of said sidewalls which is no greater than the width of said top load-carrying wall,said channel member being made of a resilient material which enables thelower ends of an associated pair of its walls to be relatively spreadapart at a location adjacent a set of associated fastening legs providedon an associated connector used to connect said channel member togetherwith an associated channel member and upon releasing said associatedwalls the normal resiliency of said channel member causes saidassociated walls to return to their initial positions with the fasteningflanges comprising said associated walls hooked around said fasteninglegs so that said channel member is adapted to be fastened and held inposition against its associated connector by its fastening flanges.

9. A channel member as set forth in claim 8 in which said intermediatewall adjoins said top wall and said non-skid means comprise a pluralityof upwardly extending projections provided as an integral 'part of saidtop wall.

10. A channel member as set forth in claim 8 in which said intermediatewall adjoins the central portion of said top wall and is arrangedvertically therebeneath and said walls and flanges comprise a singleunitary structure.

11. A channel member as set forth in claim 10 in which said intermediatewall has a vertical height which which is substantially less than thewidth of its top loadcarrying wall to thereby define said member havingdownwardly converging side walls.

14. A channel member as set forth in claim 10 in' which saidintennediate fastening flange comprises two flange portionssymmetrically positioned on opposite sides of said intermediate wall.

1. A floor construction comprising, a plurality of substantiallyE-shaped channel members arranged in parallel spaced relation; eachE-shaped channel member comprising a bight defining a top load-carryingwall, a pair of downwardly extending side walls adjoining said topload-carrying wall, an intermediate wall arranged between said sidewalls, a pair of inwardly directed side fastening flanges each adjoiningand extending inwardly toward the other from the lower edge portion ofan associated side wall, and an intermediate fastening flange adjoiningthe lower edge portion of said intermediate wall, each channel memberhaving a width between the lower edges of its side walls which is nogreater than the width of its top load-carrying wall; and a plurality ofconnectors fastening said channel members together, each connectorhaving a base portion and sets of upwardly and outwardly extendingfastening legs, each leg having a recess with an associated fasteningflange received therewithin, each channel member being made of aresilient material which provides a normal resiliency therefor and holdsits fastening flanges within recesses of associated fastening legs andin grasping contact against the associated fastening legs so that eachchannel member is fastened in position and held in spaced relation fromimmediately adjacent members by its fastening flanges.
 2. A floorconstruction as set forth in claim 1 in which each channel member hasnon-skid means provided on its top wall.
 3. A floor construction as setforth in claim 1 in which each channel member has its top wall definedas an outwardly convex top wall provided with non-skid means as anintegral part thereof.
 4. A floor construction as set forth in claim 1in which each channel member has its side and intermediate fasteningflanges provided with bottom surfaces arranged in a common planeenabling each channel member to be supported on an associated planarsupport.
 5. A floor construction as set forth in claim 1 in which eachchannel member has a width between the lower edges of its side wallswhich is substantially less than the width of its top load-carrying wallto thereby define a downwardly diverging passage between eachimmediately adjacent pair of said channel members.
 6. A floorconstruction as set forth in claim 1 in which each of said channelmembers and each of said connectors is made as a single unitarystructure of a metallic material.
 7. A floor construction as set forthin claim 1 in which said plurality of connectors are arranged in setsplaced at spaced intervals transverse said elongated members and theconnectors in each set are arranged in aligned end-to-end relation alonga rectilinear path.
 8. A substantially E-shaped channel member for usein a floor construction, said channel member comprising a bight defininga top load-carrying wall, a pair of downwardly extending side walls, anintermediate wall arranged between said side walls, a pair of inwardlydirected side fastening flanges each extending inwardly toward the otherfrom the lower edge of an associated side wall, and an intermediatefastening flange adjoining the lower edge of said intermediate wall,said channel member having a width between the lower edges of said sidewalls which is no greater than the width of said top load-carrying wall,said channel member being made of a resilient material which enables thelower ends of an associated pair of its walls to be relatively spreadapart at a location adjacent a set of associated fastening legs providedon an associated connector used to connect said channel member togetherwith an associated channel member and upon releasing said associatedwalls the normal resiliency of said channel member causes saidassociated walls to return to their initial positions with the fasteningflanges comprising said associated walls hooked around said fasteninglegs so that said channel member is adapted to be fastened and held inposition against its associated connector by its fastening flanges.
 9. Achannel member as set forth in claim 8 in which said intermediate walladjoins said top wall and said non-skid means comprise a plurality ofupwardly extending projections provided as an integral part of said topwall.
 10. A channel member as set forth in claim 8 in which saidintermediate wall adjoins the central portion of said top wall and isarranged vertically therebeneath and said walls and flanges comprise asingle unitary structure.
 11. A channel member as set forth in claim 10in which said intermediate wall has a vertical height which is greaterthan the vertical height of each of said side walls and said top wallhas an outwardly convex configuration which provides added strength andrigidity therefor for a given thickness of material.
 12. A channelmember as set forth in claim 10 in which said side and intermediatefastening flanges have bottom surfaces arranged in a common plane.
 13. Achannel member as set forth in claim 10 and having a width between thelower edges of its side walls which is substantially less than the widthof its top load-carrying wall to thereby define said member havingdownwardly converging side walls.
 14. A channel member as set forth inclaim 10 in which said intermediate fastening flange comprises twoflange portions symmetrically positioned on opposite sides of saidintermediate wall.